Hornstrandir

Hornstrandir

This territory of the Arctic fox has been uninhabited since the 1950s. As isolated as it was then, it attracts the casual half-day visitors and serious gore-tex hikers alike. Its main attractions are three. First, the bird cliffs surrounding the bay of Hornvík, are a magnet of gigantic proportions. On the eastern side of the bay the cliff reaches a height of more than 500 metres, and the birds are teeming. Second, as there is no infrastructure and the tourists few in relation to the sheer size of the area, the sense of remoteness is strong. You can hike days on end without seeing a single person. The nature is pure and the tranquillity unmatched. Third, dwas the area is a haven for the Arctic fox (think hunting-ban and bird-packed cliffs), the chances of spotting one are high.

Most tours, especially day tours, depart from Ísafjörður. Hikers wanting to go on their own can also take boats from Norðurfjörður.

Haelavikurbjarg, between coves Hornvik and Haelavik, is a 521 m high sheer cliff. It is named after Haell, a freestanding rock in the sea just off the coast. Above the brink is a valley called Hvannadalur. Below the valley are two beautiful freestanding dikes, Langikambur and Fjol, in the sea, with a small cove named Kirfi in between them. Not far away is the third dike, Sulnastapi, standing in the sea close to the cliff.

Adalvik cove faces the open seas, being the outermost cove in Hornstrandir Nature Reserve. The cove is rather big, with about 5 miles between the impressive mountains that surround it. Both sides fall steeply into the ocean and there is a considerable lowland area within the cove. North of Adalvik is Straumnes and Straumnesfjall mountain. Further in the cove is Latrafjall mountain.

This territory of the Arctic fox has been uninhabited since the 1950s. As isolated as it was then, it attracts the casual half-day visitors and serious gore-tex hikers alike. Its main attractions are three. First, the bird cliffs surrounding the bay of Hornvík, are a magnet of gigantic proportions. On the eastern side of the bay the cliff reaches a height of more than 500 metres, and the birds are teeming. Second, as there are no infrastructure and the tourists few in relation to the sheer size of the area, the sense of remoteness is strong. You can hike days on end without seeing a single person. The nature is pure and the tranquillity unmatched. Third, as the area is a haven for the Arctic fox (think hunting-ban and bird-packed cliffs), the chances of spotting one are high.

Most tours, especially day tours, depart from Ísafjörður. Hikers wanting to go on their own can also take boats from Bolungarvík and Norðurfjörður.

Hesteyrarfjordur is the westernmost fjord of the Jokulfirdir area, surrounded by rocky mountains and steep screes. Lowland is rather limited. At the mouth of the fjord, the Lasafjall mountain rises on the east side and Nongilsfjall mountain om the west side. Inward on the west side one can see Innri-Hesteyrarbrunir and above them Kistufell mountain. The abandoned large farm Sletta is on the west side closer to the fjords mouth.

Do you want to go bird watching in Iceland? The Westfjords offer some of the best bird watching sites there are. The unique Látrabjarg cliff is one of the best places in Iceland to photograph puffins. Other popular bird watching sites include Reykhólar, Vigur, Grímsey island in Steingrímsfjörður and Hornstrandir nature reserve.

The Arctic fox is the only truly native land mammal in Iceland. It got stranded on the island after the last Ice Age and lived on birds, bird eggs, berries, seaweed and all sorts of other stuff. Over the millennia the Icelandic Arctic fox has become genetically unique: the Vulpes lagopus fuliginosus subspecies. They are white in winter and grey in summer. The Hornstrandir nature reserve in the Westfjords is the only place in Iceland where the Arctic fox is completely protected from hunting; which means they are a common sight and unusually tame.

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Safe travel in Iceland

To make travel in Iceland safer - for your safe returnSafetravel.is is run by ICE-SAR and is part of a bigger project, simply named Safetravel. In that project a number of companies, public institutions and individuals join hands and the goal is to lower the rate of accidents in travel and tourism in Iceland.

The 112 Iceland app can be used for two things, both for added safety on your Iceland trip. First of all you can call for help by pressing the red Emergency button. Your location will be sent by text message to the 112 response center. Remember that even though your phone shows no signal there is a possibility that you can send text message.

The green Check In button is for you to leave your location with us so if something happens we have more information to work with. Only the 5 last locations are stored and we recommend you use this – don’t worry – you are not disturbing anyone – except for our big computer who wants to be disturbed.

On Safetravel.is you can find extensive amount of information which can help you plan your travel to and around Iceland in more safe and secure way.

Local time and weather

Aurora forecast

When to see the Northern Lights in Iceland? The best time is between 21:00-03:00 although they can often be seen early evening or during the night. The official Northern Lights season in Iceland is from October till March. The more activity the more likely it is that you will see the northern lights but that is not all. There is never a guarantee of spotting the northern lights, but northern lights forecast by vedur.is are good. Clear skies are necessary, when we have clear skies in Iceland It is usually cold. So be sure to wear the right clothing.Northern Lights Forecast The Icelandic Met Office does Northern Lights Forecast which is good to use. Visit the Icelandic Met Office www.vedur.is, for more info.

Driving in Iceland

Always check the road conditionsThe weather is not the same in different regions of Iceland. Here below are good websites to use when traveling in Iceland in winter. Vedur.is is the official website for weather in Iceland. But it doesn’t always give the right picture road.is, the website for the Icelandic Road Administration, is the best website to use if you use it right.If you are unsure then you can call 1777 and ask for the conditions (open 06:30-22:00) or 1778 an automatic telephone service open all day.

Driving in Iceland can be tricky - but if you listen carefully to Elfis you should be fine.